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The Lucifer Gambit
The Lucifer Gambit is an audiobook produced by Big Finish Productions. It was released in August 2013. Publisher's summary "Don't live in the darkness, Amy Jennings." Adolescence is difficult enough, especially when your family members are vampires and werewolves. But somehow Amy Jennings survived it. Now a young woman, Amy has come back to Collinsport, determined to forget the horrors of childhood and start anew. But growing up means confronting the truth about the world around you and Amy's rite of passage has just begun. Drawn into a world of obscene wealth, blind seduction, and cold-blooded murder by the irresistible Dominic Randall, Amy is about to learn that passion burns. But so does a woman's scorn... because falling in love can be incendiary. Synopsis Teaser :Midnight at Collinwood and a young woman sleeps. Amy Jennings has returned to the great house hoping to start anew, but memories of a tragic past still haunt her. And on this night she dreams. Lost and all alone, Amy Jennings calls out into the darkness. A boy sings the nursery rhyme One, Two, Three, Four, Five. A demon conducts a hellish perversion of Sabrina Stuart and Chris Jennings' wedding ceremony. Amy calls out to her brother only to find he has died all over again. Psychiatrist Doctor Thompson appears, ready to take Amy back to Windcliff Sanitarium. She screams. Jim Hardy drives Carolyn Stoddard back to Collinwood. On return to the mansion they find Amy screaming in terror. Carolyn attempts to console the young girl but no avail. She states everyone she loved is dead, and that she herself will be next. Opening Theme A short while later, Amy, now recovered from the ordeal of her nightmare, mentions her brother Chris' mysterious death. Jim suggests he look into it for her, but she declines his kind offer. A telephone rings, Amy answers to a young man named Dominic Randall urgently searching for the aid of Professor Timothy Eliot Stokes. Carolyn attempts to dissuade a concerned Amy from helping the strange man. Amy packs a bag for a trip to Saratoga Springs. Earlier that morning she went to Professor Stokes cottage and found out who Dominic is, and how the man's much older wife named Isobel died mysteriously by fire. Sensing a kindred spirit, she is determined to assist the man with his problem. As the train approaches Saratoga Springs, a conductor named Matthew Samuels strikes up a conversation with Amy commenting on the strange necklace she wears. She asks him about the Randall family. According to the Matthew their reputation is renowned in these parts, particularly Isobel who was known as the 'Witch of Wall Street'. Arriving at Randall Manor, Amy notices the building's widows have all been painted black. A man yells out for help from inside prompting Amy to let herself in through one of the windows by smashing it. Inside she is greeted by the insane cackling of an old woman looking for Dominic, who threatens to kill Amy, which causes a panicked Amy to run off deeper into the building. She encounters Dominic in a darkened room, who reveals the old woman – a dark soul, burning like black fire – to be what remains of his wife Isobel Randall. Isobel is unable harm them whilst ever they remain in the dark shadows, at that moment, the old woman catches up with them. They move off into the center of the building where it's darker and hopfully out of the old woman's reach. They discuss Professor Stokes; Amy suggests they make a circle of salt – a common defense against supernatural creatures – in the hope of creating a stronger barrier against Isobel. As the pair head toward the kitchen, Isobel appears causing them to split up. Amy is chased into an aviary. The old woman berates the girl for assisting Dominic and attempts to set her on fire, but is unable due to Amy's talisman necklace. Instead she reads Amy's mind and taunts her about her brother's werewolf curse. As the sun begins to set, Isobel begins to weaken but she vows to kill both Amy and Dominic at dawn. Amy finds Dominic, they discuss Isobel. Amy begins to doubt him, but he manages to reassure her. They decide to head to the wine cellar, the darkest place in the house. Four hours until dawn, Amy believes that finding out what changed between Isobel and Dominic could be the key to ending the old woman's reign of terror. Isobel was a practitioner of the black arts; the revelation that Dominic shared this interest repulses Amy. Suddenly his manner changes, he realizes Amy's pedant prevented Isobel from killing her, something he will have to do instead. He believes the blood of an innocent must be spilled in order to banish Isobel forever. Dominic grabs Amy by the throat but she manages to break free and render him unconscious with a wine bottle. Sunrise, Dominic wakes to find himself locked up and exposed to the sunlight. Isobel appears, he reveals he was the one who killed Isobel. Amy returns goading Isobel into action and in the process traps the old woman with her pendant which was hand crafted in Salem by a 17th century warlock for protection from the powers of darkness that also has the ability to contain such forces. She explains that when Isobel previously tried to kill Amy the necklace created a protective barrier around her, that barrier now surrounds Isobel and once the sun sets Isobel will be destroyed completely. It comes to light that a demon has been playing Dominic and Isobel off against one another with promises of eternal life. Amy helps the two realize why they love each other. She implores them to name the demon and thus breaking its hold over them. Isobel returns the talisman to Amy sacrificing herself in the process. As she dissipates she attempts to warn Amy of how her brother died, but is unable to do so. Realizing she doesn't need the pendant anymore Amy gives it to Dominic. On a train heading back to Collinsport, Amy encounters the conductor Matthew again, he tells her about a live television broadcast taking place in Collinsport soon. Amy spots Sabrina on the train; the two old friends get reacquainted. Closing Theme Memorable quotes Dramatis personae (in order of appearance) * Stephanie Ellyne as Amy Jennings * Jacob Sowersby as Child (archive clip) * Lisa Richards as Sabrina Jennings * Jonathon Marx as Jim Hardy * Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard * David Selby as Quentin Collins (archive clip) * Antonio Rastelli as Anton Thompson * Simon Lee Phillips as Dominic Randall * Barra Collins as Matthew Samuels * Sheila Steafel as Isobel Randall Background information and notes * A variation of the opening narration for this story was also played over the end credits of the previous release Beneath the Veil, this time it is read by Sheila Steafel instead of James Unsworth. * The song, "Drive", previously heard in Beneath the Veil plays in Jim Hardy's car as he drives Carolyn Stoddard home. * Anton Thompson previously appeared in Dreaming of the Water, and was found dead in Beneath the Veil. * It was revealed how Chris Jennings died in The Enemy Within. * Carolyn is attending the funeral of Brett Hawker, whose death occured in Beneath the Veil. * Both Jim Hardy and Amy Jennings hum the nursery rhyme One, Two, Three, Four, Five. It previously appeared several times in Beneath the Veil, and also appears here as part of Amy's dream sequence. * Isobel Randall previously used the surname 'Cunningham'. * After running away, Amy found Professor Stokes in Cairo and stayed with him for a while. * Isobel's cousin Leona Covington appeared in The Phantom Bride. * Matthew Samuels previously appeared in The Enemy Within. * A teaser for the next release, The Flip Side, plays over the end credits: ** Next time on Dark Shadows. The fishing town of Collinsport sits perched on the knifes edge where land meets the sea. When day turns to night the light and sounds of the Blue Whale pub stretch out across the water. Like moths the residents of this dark town are drawn in, they bask in the glow of each other's company and engage in their social rituals unaware of the danger of getting too close to the flame. * Also included are trailers for The Creeping Fog, The Eternal Actress, A Collinwood Christmas & The House by the Sea. Bloopers and continuity errors Official website *Big Finish Productions: The Lucifer Gambit *The Collinsport Historical Society - Review: The Lucifer Gambit